


The caretaker

by gealach



Series: The Vault Diaries [2]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, X-Factor (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Blood, Depression, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Possible butchering of the French language, Slurs, Slut Shaming, Team Bonding, mentions of mind control, mentions of polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26429215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gealach/pseuds/gealach
Summary: When a guest shows up unannounced at the Boneyard, secrets are revealed and old ghosts are dredged up from the past. Maybe the team should have paid closer attention - but there's still time to make amends.Set afterX-Factor (2020)#3.
Relationships: Jean-Paul Beaubier/Kyle Jinadu
Series: The Vault Diaries [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921072
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	The caretaker

There was a young girl sitting in front of the Boneyard when Kyle came back from work.

For a moment he thought it was someone who sought out X-Factor’s help, and his heart clenched. Someone so young, left alone to try and retrieve whoever was dead?

But, as he neared the ostentatious building, he saw that the girl was surrounded by four pink suitcases, garish and absolutely covered with stickers.

And… She had… She was holding a wolverine, petting it as if it were a cat, seemingly engrossed as she talked to it.

Kyle had seen far stranger sights on this island to be surprised anymore.

“Hello!” he called out when he was near enough. She was startled, her head snapping up. “Can I help you?”

“Hi!” She jumped to her feet, letting the wolverine fall to the ground. It slithered towards Kyle, fast, and he almost let out a shout. “Oh, Jonathan won't hurt you! He’s a good boy, aren’t you?”

She cooed. The wolverine was just sniffing at him, curious, and Kyle relaxed.

“Can I help you?” he repeated, holding his briefcase high so that the animal wouldn’t snap at it.

“Oh, yes! You live here, right? My idiot brother didn’t give me the keys!”

She sighed, long-suffering. She had long raven hair and he wracked his brain, trying to think who she could be related to.

“Follow me,” he said, fishing the key card out of his pocket. There was a complex alphanumeric code to punch in, too; David had recently upped their security, after their trip to Mojoworld. “I’m Kyle,” he introduced himself as the girl picked up a backpack. “Northstar’s husband.”

“I know!” she said cheerfully. “I’m Gabby.”

“Nice to meet you, Gabby.” He opened the door and called out, but as he’d suspected, no one was home. He helped the girl bring the suitcases inside. “I’m sorry, they just head out without warning sometimes. Are you Trevor’s sister?”

She scoffed. “Do I look like Eye-boy? _Jonathan!_ Come back here!” The wolverine was excitedly running towards the communal area. “I’m Gabby _Kinney_ ,” she said, self-explanatory.

That wasn't as helpful as she clearly expected it to be; the island was huge and densely populated. But it did ring a bell. “I’m sorry,” he grimaced, “I still haven’t learned everyone’s name.”

“I’m Akihiro’s sister,” she said, exasperated. Her lower lip trembled. “Did he never mention me?”

Kyle only recognized the name because a few days before, Daken had wandered into the communal area as they all relaxed, said they were welcome to call him Akihiro if they wanted, and retreated to his room again. Jean-Paul had scoffed; he didn’t like Daken much, but given how flippant and leering the man acted, it was no wonder. Kyle didn’t exactly feel easy around the ex-villain either.

But now he remembered why the kid’s name was so familiar: Laura Kinney, Daken’s sister, was sharing the Wolverine mantle with their father and had been on some sensitive mission for weeks now; and Kyle had once heard both Gabby’s and Laura’s names come from Daken’s room as he was passing in front of it, before Rachel closed the door to his face.

In retrospect, the pet wolverine really should have been a clue.

To the girl, Kyle said reassuringly: “He doesn’t really share.” Then, because she looked like she’d been waiting for a while, he added, “Are you hungry?”

Gabby nodded. “I’m starving!”

They left the suitcases in the entrance and he led her to the kitchen. The pantry, solely thanks to Kyle and David, was fully stocked, and he considered his options. “Do you like Italian?”

“It’s really just a far-fetched imitation,” she said seriously, with the cadence of someone who’s repeating something they heard once. “Real Italian cuisine is much more complex and savory. But sure!” she added quickly as he stared at her. “Pasta sounds good!”

She was so incredibly different from Daken and from Wolverine. Kyle distantly remembered Laura from his wedding - had she climbed a tree…? - and the two sisters couldn't be more different too. Gabby was… cheerful. She insisted to help him cook, and she chatted excitedly, mostly about Daken and Laura and some exploit or the other, that had happened before the entire mutant population moved to Krakoa. She seemed to be missing her sister, though, her voice turning wistful sometimes.

She told him that ever since Laura’s departure, she’d been staying at the Summer House on the moon with Wolverine, whom she didn’t really call ‘ _dad_ ’ because she’d been cloned from Laura and it was complicated.

“I was too young to live in Akademos,” she said sagely, inhaling the last bit of pasta. “And Aki… He’s never found a place here, he used to crash at Laura’s sometimes, so…” She shrugged. “I had to stay with Logan.”

“You don’t like it there?”

“Logan’s never home,” she almost spat. The wolverine jumped in her lap, and she petted it absentmindedly. “And when he’s there, he’s got his… _thing_. I’m glad he’s happy, good for him, but... you know.” She crunched up her nose. “And then Nathan started dating the Cuckoos. All five of them! It’s _weird!_ Rach fled here too, so you know it really is weird sometimes. I want to stay with Aki. He has a home now, so I can.”

Kyle hummed. For a young and excitable young girl, staying with her adventurous big brother would undoubtedly sound like fun. Seeing how Daken behaved, though, Kyle wasn’t sure it was such a good idea. “You don’t think you’d be better off with your father?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I just told you he’s never home.”

“Well, but you have an entire family there, that can take care of you.”

“They’re not my family.”

The pet wolverine growled.

“I just meant -”

“You meant that Aki can’t take care of me,” she pointed out, perceptive. “You don’t know him.”

“He doesn’t seem dependable,” Kyle said reasonably, eyeing the growling animal. She was keeping it close to her chest.

“He’s great. He makes me laugh. He loves me and Laura. You don’t know him like we do!” she snapped. “I know he’s a real pain sometimes, but he’s a good brother!”

She huffed angrily. She seemed about to cry; he’d really upset her, and he hadn’t meant to. Maybe Daken really was a good brother. After all, if Laura had let him around the girl, and if Wolverine had given her permission to come here - even if he apparently was too preoccupied to care - then it was all right.

And it really wasn’t any of Kyle’s business.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “You’re right, I don’t know him. I’m sure he’s great.”

“He _is_ ,” she snarled. Now he really saw the family resemblance.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. She nodded. Then, to fill the silence, and to make it up to her, he smiled. “What do you want to do? We have a lot of games, David and Trevor -”

“You don’t have to keep me entertained,” she interrupted him, a bit frosty. “I’m self-sufficient.”

As if to demonstrate, she grabbed their plates and put them in the dishwasher.

“I see that,” he attempted to appease her. “Not a lot of girls your age know how to take care of themselves. I’m sure they’re all proud of you.”

She sighed. “Look, Mr. Kyle, I see you’re trying to be nice, but I’m really tired. Can you just point me in the direction of a free room?”

“Of course.” He stood, trying to avoid the wolverine dashing between his feet. “Both rooms next to Daken’s are free. I’ll show you the way.”

She got quiet as they retrieved her suitcases from the entrance and brought them to the room she chose, the one on the right.

He stood in the doorway as she set a suitcase on the bed and began unpacking. “Okay. I’m sure Daken will be back soon. I’ll let you settle in, Gabby.”

“Yeah, thank you,” she said quietly, but as he was about to leave she spoke up. “It’s a _slur_.”

She said it so forcefully, she seemed really angered. More than when she’d defended her brother. She stood there, a shirt in hand, trembling.

“ _What_ is?” Kyle asked, alarmed. She whirled around, visibly seething.

“Daken! It means _mongrel_. Because he’s half-Japanese. When he was a kid they used to call him that instead of his name,” she snapped, huge green eyes filled with rage as she stared at him. “He’s really trying to leave it behind. I know he asked you people to use his name!”

Kyle had indeed understood that ‘ _Daken_ ’ was a codename. And he hadn’t really felt that comfortable around the man, to use his first name instead. Jeanne-Marie did, and Rachel, and Lorna, and sometimes David; but if he’d known its meaning, Kyle would have never kept calling him like that, and he was sure that Jean-Paul, for all that he despised the man, would agree. They both knew what it meant to grow up around people that hated them for being different.

“I’m really sorry,” Kyle murmured. “I didn’t know, he never -”

“He never shared, yeah,” she muttered. “I figured. Idiot brother,” she added, as an aside. “But you could have _asked_.”

She marched to the door and shut it in his face.

Well. Kyle had never been so humbled by a prepubescent girl.

He resolved to call the man by his name and to talk about it with Jean-Paul, and went to their room. He still had some work to do.

He supposed he lost sense of time, like it happened sometimes. He re-emerged from his laptop when he heard the racket that usually signalled that the team - and Rachel’s pet warwolf, what _was_ it with these people and dangerous animals? - was back home. They were louder than usual, though.

Then there was loud cursing. “Oi!” Lorna shouted. “Keep it away!”

“ _Here_ , Jonathan!” That was Rachel’s voice.

The wolverine must have come out of Gabby’s room. Kyle hurried outside to greet them. Gabby joined him in the corridor, wearing a blue-and-yellow pajama - was it that late? - and together they finally reached the entrance. They almost collided with Trevor, who ran past them looking nauseous. In a corner, the warwolf and the wolverine were playfully snapping at each other, or so was Kyle’s hope.

Gabby shrieked.

Kyle turned, saw her staring at something, followed her gaze, and did a double take. In the entrance Daken - Akihiro - floated, seemingly held together by Lorna. She was using the iron in his blood, probably. There was a lot of blood. It was dripping on the floor.

It came from Akihiro.

Gabby ran towards her brother; Rachel held her back, a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“It’s all right,” she was saying, reassuring the panicked kid, “he’s all right.”

Kyle reached Jean-Paul, who stood near the open front door. His husband was pale.

“What happened?” Kyle asked him, but got no answer, Jean-Paul’s gaze fixed somewhere else. Kyle closed the door. “Baby?”

“There was a bomb,” murmured Jeanne-Marie, her hair singed and faint traces of blood on her costume. She was hugging herself tightly. “He just… threw me out of the way and rolled over it...”

Gabby cried out. She escaped Rachel’s comforting hold and disappeared towards the corridor leading to the rooms. Rachel made to follow her, but then stayed with them as they all followed Lorna into the communal area.

“We did apprehend the culprit and gave the go-ahead to the Five,” David said, adjusting his glasses. “I’d say good job, team?”

Kyle eyed the young man, incredulous. Then he glanced at Akihiro, who was being carefully lowered on a couch by Lorna. For a mercy, he was passed out. The loose pants that constituted his costume were torn into shreds, drenched with blood that immediately began seeping into the seats as soon as he touched them. His flesh was reknitting itself, but if Kyle looked closer, he could glimpse far more delicate tissues inside. No wonder that Trevor had fled, given his superior eye-sight. It was a gruesome spectacle.

“Shouldn’t you take him to an infirmary?” he exhaled, eyeing Jean-Paul too. His husband was still out of it; perhaps because it was his first big loss as a leader, or perhaps because he’d almost lost Jeanne-Marie again.

“Well, he heals.” David shrugged. Sometimes Kyle was truly weirded out by how cavalier they all were in the face of death. “So it’s not really needed -”

“Here!” Gabby gasped, out of breath, joining them again, holding a basin filled with water, towels thrown over her shoulders. She’d raided the cabinets. Her gaze snapped between all of them, likely trying to surmise who’d be less squeamish among who was available, and finally landed on Rachel. “Help me clean him up!”

“Let’s… wait for him to wake up.” David eyed her. “You’re Gabby, right? What are you doing here?”

That brought the team’s attention away from what was happening. Gabby put the basin down and held herself tall and proud, her chin raised high. “I’m moving in.”

“Absolutely not.” Jean-Paul chose that moment to snap out of it, and he faced her, his features set with authority. Kyle grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

“Maybe we can think about it, baby -”

“No, this is no place for a child,” Jean-Paul said firmly. “It’s dangerous. Absolutely not,” he repeated. “What possessed the stupid chien to think it was a good -”

Gabby started screaming a string of obscenities so loud that Kyle feared for her vocal chords. Knowing what ‘Daken’ meant, Kyle understood her reaction. But Jean-Paul was unaware, and he’d most likely called Akihiro ‘ _dog_ ’ in frustration at what the man had done and the state he was currently in. He felt guilty, and sometimes he tended to be an asshole when that happened.

And now he scoffed. “I bet he taught you to talk like that.”

Kyle winced. He squeezed his husband’s hand, trying to impart that the situation was more complicated than what he thought and that he was being too hard on himself and others, but Jean-Paul stood his ground.

“No, _Logan_ did!” Gabby snarled. “You all think that Aki’s a menace, right? But he’s kind and funny and he _cares_ , and you’re assholes! He’s trying and you keep treating him like shit!”

“Are we talking about the same -”

Kyle clamped a hand over his husband’s mouth. “Baby,” he murmured, “Think for a while, okay?”

They really had been behaving like assholes, Kyle realized. Krakoa was a new beginning for everyone - villains included. Jean-Paul had told him how Akihiro had immediately jumped up to help them find Jeanne-Marie only to be constantly dismissed, and he often lamented that they kept the man around only because he’d proved so useful. And he didn’t like how the man kept courting Jeanne-Marie, even if she was capable of handling herself and she really seemed to be enjoying the attention. Not to mention that Akihiro also propositioned Kyle and Jean-Paul from time to time. But… Maybe the man’s gross jokes were a desperate attempt at fitting in after helping had failed to impress, and they were met with far more aggression than they would have elicited coming from someone that wasn’t an ex-villain.

An ex-villain who’d just jumped in front of Jeanne-Marie, taking an explosion for her.

David looked thoughtful; perhaps he’d reached Kyle’s same conclusion.

Rachel sighed. “She’s right, Northstar.”

Jean-Paul spluttered. “We were talking about the kid staying here,” he pointed out, looking a bit chagrined. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea... ”

“We’ll discuss it when he wakes up,” Lorna said firmly. She sat by Akihiro’s head; the man seemed finally healed enough that maybe her magnetism wasn’t needed anymore to hold every piece of him close. “Together. As a team.”

Jean-Paul had been the one to ask Lorna to point out when he was making mistakes, but this time he seemed intent in following her suggestion a little more morosely than others. The two of them stared at each other for a bit, and in the tense silence there was a groan and a sharp intake of breath.

“L-Laura?” The whimper came from Akihiro, whose eyelids were trembling.

“Oh, shit.” Gabby blanched. Then she jumped to her brother’s side. “It’s me, Akihiro, I’m -”

“Laura? You’re _back?_ ” No one could have mistaken the slurred words for anything but sheer, unadulterated relief. Gabby’s face fell. Then Akihiro sat upright, fast, his eyes snapped open, and they all saw the man’s features at first light up with hope, then crumble and shut down and rearrange themselves in a big smile. “Hey, Gabby!”

But he sounded confused. Didn’t he remember that she’d move in today?

Gabby grinned at him - an absolutely fake smile plastered on her face. “Is that why you keep saying I can't stay with you? Because I smell like her?”

Akihiro opened his mouth, but it was clear she had hit close to home. He stared at her, pale.

Oh, _no_. He hadn’t invited her to move in. She’d just... showed up.

“Newsflash, you idiot!” She threw the towels on the couch. “I’m worried sick too! But she’d want us to support each other, and you’re being an idiot!”

And then she was gone, disappearing into the corridor before Akihiro could scramble to his feet. He stared after her, remorseful, as the wolverine followed her.

Rachel sighed.

“Who is she?” Jeanne-Marie whispered. Akihiro didn’t answer, stock-still.

“His little sister,” Lorna said softly. “Aren’t you going after her, Akihiro?”

The man shook himself.

“No, I… She needs some space.”

Or they both did.

Akihiro sat down heavily and looked between them all, then at his bloodied clothes and body. His gaze snapped to Jeanne-Marie as if to make sure she was all right, then he saw the towels, and bent to take one. He stared at it for a long moment and then wet it and began cleaning himself, looking dejected. When he spoke, it was with a pained whisper. “What is she doing here?”

Jean-Paul looked stricken. He must have realized the same thing as Kyle: that the siblings were absolutely _terrified_ for Laura Kinney, and that Akihiro had probably jumped to his help because he related all too well to the fear of losing a sister. “Well, she -”

He trailed off.

“I met her outside,” Kyle explained. Akihiro’s gaze focused on him, sharp, the towel forgotten in his lap. “She was waiting. She had a few suitcases.” Kyle hesitated. “She said she wanted to stay with you.”

Akihiro looked incredibly vulnerable. It wasn’t a look that Kyle would have expected from him, but he’d made a lot of ugly assumptions already.

“She’s a bright young girl,” he added, as if they were chatting and Akihiro wasn’t sitting with shredded clothes in a pool of his own blood, shocked and torn and aching. “I’d love it if she stayed, Akihiro.”

The man stared at him when Kyle addressed him as he’d asked to be addressed, and Jean-Paul did a double-take at the name. Just like that, Akihiro retreated behind that mask of bravado he kept wearing around them.

“Well, Kyle,” he drawled, eyeing Jean-Paul suggestively. “ _I’d_ love it if we three -”

“Just stop it!” Jeanne-Marie exclaimed imperiously. She marched up to him like a fury. “Imbécile. You care about the girl, n'est-ce-pas?”

“Occupe-toi de tes oignons.” Akihiro mumbled, wincing. He was spared her full ire only because Jean-Paul started.

“You speak _French?_ ”

“I speak more languages than you can count.” Akihiro resumed wiping at the blood, his gaze averted from them all. “Saucisson.”

And he had heightened hearing. Kyle had to remind himself that he’d decided to give the man a chance. He resolutely did not blush at the memory of the only time the man could have overheard the endearment, and held Jean-Paul back, who didn’t share his compunctions and looked ready to murder Akihiro.

Lorna had dropped her head onto her hands, and she was muttering. “Children. They’re all _children_.”

“That would have been helpful to know,” David pointed out, steering them away from the topic before Jean-Paul exploded. “You know, for our missions?”

“Well, David, what do I know, I’m not the big brain here,” Akihiro said calmly, turning to face the young man. “You’ve got all your fancy gadgets. My only power is being a ‘ _huge slut_ ’. Oh, and occasionally your tracking dog.”

Okay, they’d really been assholes.

“We’re sorry, Akihiro,” Kyle said. “You’ve been trying to help and we’ve been dismissive.” He squeezed Jean-Paul’s arm when it looked like he wanted to protest. “I’d appreciate it if you toned down the jokes, but it’s no excuse for how we’ve been treating you.”

Akihiro regarded him with a sort of solemnity that, too, clashed with whatever Kyle had learnt to expect from the man. “Gabby told you what it meant, didn’t she?”

Kyle didn’t affect ignorance. “She did. I hadn’t realized you were asking us to stop calling you that. I apologize.”

Jean-Paul tugged at his hand. “What are you talking about?”

Kyle hesitated; he wasn’t sure he should say it to Akihiro’s face.

The man passed a smeared hand through his hair and sighed. “I guess I could have been clearer.”

Rachel snorted, humorless. “You think?”

Jean-Paul looked between them. “What are we _talking_ about?”

“‘ _Daken_ ’ is a racial slur,” David pointed out, helpful and clinical. Jean-Paul’s face fell and he let out a cry of dismay. Kyle squeezed his hand. “I’ve been going off on context clues to determine when to use a name or the other, since you’ve always used it as a codename,” David continued, “but if you want me to avoid it altogether, just say it.”

“Yes,” Akihiro said testily. “That would be appreciated.”

Jean-Paul was practically vibrating. “Was I the only one who didn’t know?” he asked, stricken. Horrified that he’d unknowingly insulted Akihiro for days in such a deep, scarring manner.

Kyle knew the feeling.

“Trevor doesn’t,” David said. “It didn’t seem to bother you, Akihiro, so I didn’t tell him. I thought you’d prefer it.” He frowned at the man as he finally caught up. “Did I offend you when I called you a -”

“No, I loved it! It reminded me of the good old days.” There was a sharpness to Akihiro’s smile that was truly, deeply unsettling. As if it was fixed on his face. “That’s what I am, no? A good old slut.”

David shut down, looking mortified. “I’m sor-”

“No, it’s all right.” Akihiro waved a hand. “I offended you. _I’m_ sorry.”

“Akihiro,” Jeanne-Marie spoke up.

“What?” The man shrugged. “I know what I am.”

The conversation was all kinds of wrong, alarm bells ringing in Kyle’s ears; and it was, too, textbook deflecting. Akihiro was trying, and succeeding, to steer them away from the topic of his sister.

“No one’s got the right to call anyone slut,” Jeanne-Marie said firmly. “C _'_ est incroyable. Regardless of how many men and women you sleep with.” She threw her brother a look, as if remembering their fight from years ago, and he threw his hands up.

“Hey, I haven’t been calling him that!”

“I know you’ve been _thinking_ it -”

“Let’s just start over, everyone,” Lorna said loudly, before it turned into one of their discussions and they were derailed further. “From a clean slate. Akihiro will tone down the jokes. We’ll stop being...” she hesitated, “generally demeaning. I’m so sorry, Akihiro.”

He considered her for a long moment, then nodded. “I have been excessive,” he conceded. “Boss.”

“Northstar’s the boss.” Lorna tilted her head to indicate Jean-Paul. Akihiro turned towards him. Jean-Paul stiffened.

They stared at each other. Jean-Paul took a big breath, the kind he took when he needed to say something important, and he stuck his hand out.

“Thank you for saving my sister, Akihiro,” he said. She didn’t protest to let her speak for herself, sensing what he was doing. Akihiro stared at the proffered hand. “But next time give us a shout instead of jumping right in. I don’t want anyone in my team to go through that. It looked painful. And we’re fast, you know, she could have -”

Akihiro’s gaze snapped up to Jean-Paul’s face. “By the time I finished shouting, the bomb would have already gone off. I heal, Northstar,” he pointed out slowly, as if explaining something to a child. “You don’t have to go through the resurrection protocols if I can take it for the team.”

Kyle felt the ground disappear from under his feet. That was… It was… It was fucked up, that’s what it was. David, who’d made that flippant comment about healing earlier, grimaced.

Jean-Paul was white as a sheet.

“You’re joking,” he choked out.

“Oh, he’s serious,” Rachel muttered darkly.

“That’s what you use us for, you X-Men,” Akihiro continued, calmly, an eyebrow raised, as if stating the obvious. He gestured at himself with the towel drenched in blood. “It’s just common sense. We’re durable.”

“Arrête ça!” Jeanne-Maire exploded. She was holding herself tightly. “That’s not right. I don’t want anyone going through that for me.”

“None of us does,” David said firmly.

“Not a fan either,” Lorna seconded the sentiment.

Rachel shrugged. “Hell, Akihiro, you know what I think.”

The man looked between them all, almost incredulous.

“You’re just like Logan, aren’t you?” Jean-Paul exclaimed. Akihiro’s head snapped in his direction. Jean-Paul crossed his arms and stared him down. “In _this_ team we don’t do that. We protect each other, okay? You’ve just shown that you understand that concept, so you’ll apply it to yourself as well. That’s an order.”

Akihiro stared at him, gaze searching and guarded. Then he slowly grabbed a clean towel, and wet it, and wiped the blood from his hands. He stood up, and shook Jean-Paul’s hand. “You’re the boss.”

It was the first time they spoke with no undercurrent of animosity, and Kyle was glad to be seeing it. Maybe there would be a better climate from now on.

Speaking of which -

“That applies to one’s struggles as well,” Kyle piped up. They all turned to look at him, Akihiro with a wide-eyed, startled expression. “This team should take care of each other for everything. Be supportive.”

And he didn’t mean just the thing with Akihiro’s sisters. Frankly, the amount of abuse that the man had been willing to take without speaking up was worrying.

“Kyle’s absolutely right.” Rachel gave Akihiro a pointed look.

Akihiro ignored her. “Let’s chat another time, this is too much excitement for one day.” He crouched down to take the basin and the towels and straightened up. He hesitated. “I’m… glad we cleared things up,” he said awkwardly, and then he made to leave. “I’ll be in my room.”

“Gabby’s staying in the room next to yours,” Kyle warned him.

Akihiro stilled. “Kuso,” he said softly, under his breath. He set the things down again and sat on his haunches, staring at nothing.

“Akihiro,” Jeanne-Marie murmured. “We can help. What’s the problem?”

“Yes, what’s happening with Laura?” Jean-Paul asked, less delicately but with the same concern. This was the man Kyle loved. “I’d understand missing her, but you two act like she’s in real danger.” He hesitated. “I’m sure she can take care of herself -”

Akihiro laughed.

It was a startling, dark sound, absolutely devoid of any amusement. It veered towards desperation. Rachel moved towards him and his laughter died and he stood up with a fluid motion.

“Sorry.” He smiled that fake smile. “I appreciate it, but I was told I can’t speak about her super-secret mission. They were very adamant about that.”

“Honestly, fuck them,” Rachel muttered. Akihiro watched her with disbelief written all over his face, and she crossed her arms. “Fuck them,” she repeated. “It’s your family we’re talking about, and you need support. Kyle’s right, we need to take care of each other. We’ve got your back, Akihiro, and Gabby’s too. Let’s tell them.” She gestured at the rest of the team. “They can help.”

He looked at her as if she’d sprouted a second head. Then he smirked, although it looked like a defense mechanism. “Rebellion, Rach? Against daddy dearest? Am I rubbing off on you?”

“I’m allowed critical thinking.” Rachel cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Don’t deflect, Akihiro, I’m serious. Let’s tell them.” She hesitated. “Aurora and Northstar -”

She trailed off as his head snapped towards the steps leading to the bedrooms and he ran over. A moment later, they saw why.

Gabby was heading for the entrance, her features set, the pet wolverine running in front of her as if to clear her way; she was wearing her backpack and dragging two suitcases. Behind her, Trevor was helping her with the others, a few of his eyes focusing on Akihiro immediately as the man neared them.

“Sweetheart?” Akihiro said softly, pleading, completely different from the way he’d always presented himself. This was the big brother who made Gabby laugh, the big brother who cared. “There’s no need for you to leave. I promise.”

Jean-Paul didn’t dare voicing any protests and, looking around at the team, Kyle knew that they’d already decided to let Gabby stay.

“No?” Gabby stopped walking and stared up at him, eyes blazing. Trevor hovered behind her, looking panicked. “But it’s all you ever say,” she said. “‘ _You can’t stay with me, Gabby, I don’t have a home._ ’ But now you do! And you don’t want me here!” She stomped her feet. “I’m going back to Logan’s! At least he’s never home and so I can’t upset him. Because _that’s_ why he’s never home, isn’t it?” she said with a sad, mature voice that made Kyle’s chest ache, and if that was his reaction, then Akihiro must be reeling. “He doesn’t want to see me either.”

She sniffled and looked away.

“No, Gabby, I promise!” Akihiro crouched in front of her, trying to meet her gaze, ignoring the wolverine that was angrily snapping at him. “You aren’t upsetting anyone. Logan cares about you. And I care about you. We’re just...” He shifted to a kneel and grimaced. “We’re being really stupid.”

She let out a loud snort. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? What you two idiots are doing? I’m not stupid!”

“I know you aren’t, sweetheart, you’re very smart,” Akihiro pleaded, trying to appease her.

Kyle exchanged a worried glance with Jean-Paul, then looked around, at the other members of the team awkwardly standing around. Perhaps they shouldn’t crowd the siblings like this, they should let them work things out in peace, and yet…

They both needed the support.

“You’re throwing yourselves at things!” Gabby snarled, scooping up the wolverine and holding it tightly. “You’re going left and right to avoid worrying so much, and you’re hurting yourselves! And it’s all right if he does it, okay, he’s got a lot of people up there, but you? You’re all alone and I’m all you’ve got!” she wailed, her face all crunched up. “And I t-t-thought that if I stayed with you, at least I could help you pick yourself up!”

She burst into sobs.

Akihiro started, alarmed, and then he scuttled closer. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, you’re right,” he said, laying a hand on her arm, heedless of the furious animal. “That’s so thoughtful of you. Thank you.” He stroked her arm. “You can stay, I’d love it. They’d all love it, right?”

He looked around, a bit wide-eyed, and Jean-Paul nodded.

Rachel crouched beside the siblings. “Of course. We’d love to have you, Gabby. We’d love to support you, and Akihiro.”

The kid shook her head, rubbing at her eyes. “Y-y-you said I couldn’t -”

“I changed my mind!” Jean-Paul retorted quickly. “It was stupid. I’m really stupid sometimes.” Kyle squeezed his hand. “You’ll be a great addition to the team, Gabby.”

“See? It’s all right,” Akihiro said. “Let me take your things back to your room.”

“But you don’t want me here,” she mumbled.

Akihiro threw a panicked look at Rachel. “Sweetheart, no -”

“You look at me and you see Laura, and you smell her,” Gabby sniffled, lowering her hand from her face. “And you can’t stand it. It’s because you think she’s never coming back, isn’t it? You think she’ll never leave that place -”

Akihiro muttered that word again, ‘Kuso’, and Kyle was beginning to think that it was some kind of curse. Then Akihiro caught her hand.

“Listen to me. Laura's the best of all of us. Save for you, of course,” he added, serious, and Gabby sniffled and rolled her eyes, but there was the beginning of a smile on her lips. “She’ll get back to us. She’ll stay strong and she’ll overcome everything and she won’t die, and we’ll see her again, okay? They’ll open that door and she’ll come out of it. She _will_ , Gabby, do you hear me?”

His voice had started out quiet and firm in his attempt to soothe his sister, but as he spoke he took on a wilder, more fervent tone. As if he was talking himself through it as well.

“And you’re right: I’m afraid,” Akihiro added. “I’m afraid and I’ve been acting like a cretin. You’re right, you remind me of her, and sometimes it hurts. But you give me hope too. You give me hope that she’ll be coming back, and you can bet that she’ll have my head for how stupidly I’ve been treating you. I’m so sorry, Gabby.”

The kid kept sniffling, but she’d stopped crying. “You’re a moron,” she said softly.

“Yes I am,” Akihiro agreed wholeheartedly, without missing a beat. Gabby threw herself at him and hugged him tightly, letting the wolverine jump to the ground. Akihiro wrapped his arms around her as the animal sniffed at them both with a soft whine. “I’m really sorry, sweetheart.”

She nodded, her face pressed to his neck. They held each other, the siblings, reeling from a worry that the team still knew nothing about, reeling from the strain it had put between them and on each other. Kyle felt particularly for the kid, but also for the man he’d only ever seen a side of, the man they’d all demeaned for such stupid reasons. And if Kyle looked at the timing of the whole thing, it seemed obvious that Akihiro had been struggling for his entire stay at the Boneyard… No, before that. On an island where excess was becoming the norm, he’d still distinguished himself for being more excessive than others. And it all stemmed from Laura’s departure. He’d been struggling and throwing himself at things and making terrible jokes to fit in, trying his best to avoid thinking about his sister, to avoid his smaller sister altogether.

Jean-Paul squeezed Kyle’s hand; he was touched by the scene too. No one could really be unmoved by it: Trevor was dabbing at his eyes with a paper tissue, and Rachel straightened up with a pensive expression; Jeanne-Marie was hugging herself tightly, and leaning against Lorna, the latter wearing a grimace; and David looked torn between worry and sheer curiosity, but the empathy won out.

Perhaps they should really leave the siblings alone now. Afterwards they’d perhaps share what ailed them, what was this danger that Laura found herself in; but this was a terribly private moment to encroach on.

Not that they seemed to even remember that they had an audience.

“You really think she’s coming back?” Gabby mumbled.

“Of course.” There was no doubt at all in Akihiro’s voice as he tightly held his sister.

“You don’t think she’ll have forgotten us?” Gabby whimpered, a hitch in her breath, and Akihiro stiffened. “You don’t think she’ll be different?”

Kyle frowned and exchanged a glance with Jean-Paul. Just where exactly had Laura been sent, that such a thing would be a concern?

Rachel didn’t even seem surprised to hear the wretched doubt.

“You listen to me, Gabby,” Akihiro said, extricating himself from his sister’s hold to look her in the eyes as he spoke. “Laura loves you. She can stay there for thousands of years.” His voice cracked. “But she’ll always remember you. The Vault won’t change her.”

It was Jean-Paul’s turn to stiffen, and Jeanne-Marie’s. As the kid looked at her brother with a grim determination to hope despite her worries, Kyle’s husband and his twin were having a breakdown of their own, remembering their old nightmare; the Children of the Vault possessing them, just after Jean-Paul’s resurrection, and forcing them to attack their friends, the school. Kyle squeezed Jean-Paul’s hand, tight, anchoring him; and Lorna held Jeanne-Marie’s trembling form.

“The _Vault?_ ” Jean-Paul exploded, his voice shaking. “Your sister’s with the Children of the Vault?”

Akihiro jumped minutely and turned to look at him, guarded and suspicious and considering. Did he see how shocked Jean-Paul and Jeanne-Marie were? Did he realize that there was history there? This must be what Rachel had been about to say before Akihiro ran after Gabby: that there was someone else in the team that had been wronged by the Children of the Vault. That he and Gabby weren’t alone.

In the tense silence that followed, Trevor raised a hand. “Who are, huh -”

“ _Monstres_ ,” Jeanne-Marie spat. “Dangerous. Is that true, Akihiro? Laura’s with them?”

Pale, Akihiro glanced at Rachel, who nodded at him; then he returned his attention to Gabby, whose lips were trembling. He clasped his sister’s arm.

“She’s _inside_ the Vault,” he corrected, talking stiffly. “An infiltration. She and two others -”

“Darwin and Synch,” Rachel provided.

“Yes. They’re doing recon and espionage. They were chosen for their -” Akihiro grimaced. “Durability.”

“Because time flows differently inside the Vault.” David had an intense air around him, of one who’s solving a riddle. “They’ve been gone for weeks, so it’s -”

“For them, decades have already passed.” Akihiro nodded, his features carefully neutral. He kept stroking Gabby’s arm to comfort her. “The Council needed someone who could potentially survive for centuries, so they could report what they found.”

That explained his earlier remark about using him and his family for their healing powers, then. Of course he was bitter about it.

“We found one of the Children a month ago,” Lorna said, pale. “She slipped away from us. I knew that Wolverine… Logan… had tracked her down to the Vault, but it was closed when he arrived… I didn’t know...”

She trailed off, speechless.

“The Council decided to investigate,” Rachel said with a sigh. “It was decided not to… broadcast the mission to the general population.”

“Because they knew it was fucked up, n’est-ce-pas?” Jeanne-Marie snarled. She was getting angry. “It’s not just the general population. They kept it from everyone! If not even Lorna knew -”

“It’s a high-risk mission,” David pointed out, as if he needed to remind anyone. “Of course they don’t want to lower morale. And given the Vault’s particularities -” He trailed off. “There’s no extraction plan, is there?” he guessed, his voice quiet.

Jean-Paul cursed. Kyle held him, knowing that his time with the Children of the Vault was one of the times that still gave him nightmares. And after he returned from that horrifying alternate reality where many X-Men had recently been trapped for months, where his whole identity had been erased, where he’d forgotten about Kyle entirely, his nightmares had worsened. Only with the foundation of Krakoa, and the serenity it lent its population, had he been feeling better. This reminder that his tormentors hadn’t been vanquished would only torture him again.

And to see such an injustice, from their leaders no less, was bound to anger his gentle heart.

“There _can_ be no extraction plan.” Akihiro spoke with a clipped tone. “As it was explained to me, we have to wait for the Vault to open on its own. And we don't know when that will happen. It could be months from now, or years.”

“On their end, they could be gone for thousands of years,” Gabby murmured. “And the protocols w-w-won’t work if they’re inside -”

“They won’t die,” Akihiro said firmly. “Laura won’t die. She’ll come out, Gabby. She’ll find her way back to you.”

“To us,” she protested, with a whimper, and he nodded.

“Yes. To us.”

He held his sister again, warm and comforting. It was clear that he still doubted, that he still feared, but he was putting on an encouraging facade for the kid.

But they weren’t alone anymore. Kyle looked around - at the grim faces of Jeanne-Marie and Rachel and Lorna and David and Trevor - and knew that the entire team would stand as one in this, ready to support the siblings. It had always been what the X-Men excelled in the most: to make a family out of a team.

Jean-Paul extricated himself from Kyle’s embrace and crouched down, too. Akihiro stiffened, guarded, and Gabby eyed him curiously.

“Akihiro, Gabby,” Jean-Paul said. “We’ll be beside you. You can lean on us.” He wore that solemn look that Kyle loved. “I promise.”

Akihiro just stared at him. It was Gabby who spoke, almost too cheerful, glancing up at Kyle before returning her attention to Jean-Paul. “What? You want to be our family and take care of us?”

Her tone was a bit sardonic; Kyle knew what she was thinking about. She was thinking about his words to her, as he investigated whether it was a good choice for her to stay with her brother.

But judging from what Kyle saw tonight, it certainly was.

“We’re not trying to replace anyone,” Kyle reassured her, and Jean-Paul glanced up at him, adoring, and then back at the siblings.

“Absolutely. Your family’s your family, Gabby. But we’re a team, and we take care of each other. We can be your home, and help you out. If you’ll let us. What do you say?” He smiled, reassuring and kind.

God, Kyle loved him.

The kid eyed them critically, and studied the rest of the team too. Then she glanced at her brother.

For a moment - before a smooth mask took over his features - he looked incredibly lost, and vulnerable. A sort of resolution flickered in Gabby’s eyes, and the girl tugged at his arm. “I’m tired, Aki.”

The man regained a semblance of mobility. “Of course you are,” he murmured, standing up. “Let’s get you to your room.”

He was ignoring the team again, shutting down. Jean-Paul scrambled to his feet, but didn’t push, and he caught Kyle’s hand. Akihiro grabbed the two suitcases that Gabby had been dragging around, and then made to approach Trevor. The boy hastily moved out of the way, plastering himself to David. Akihiro looked his way. “Thanks for helping her, Trevor.”

The boy gulped. “Oh, it was nothing. Huh, Akihiro.”

With a sigh, the man turned to look at the rest of them. “I’ll be coming back to clean up that mess. Give me a moment.”

That mess -

His blood all over the floor and the couch.

Jeanne-Marie was the first to react, even though Lorna and Rachel looked both ready to argue. “Absolutely not. We can take care of it. Stay with your sister.”

Akihiro’s features were already smoothed out, so he didn’t react, but Kyle had an inkling that it was a near thing. With a flat ‘Thank you’, the man grabbed the other two suitcases that Trevor had been helping Gabby with, and then, as if the ensemble weighed nothing, and Kyle knew that wasn't the case, he left, dragging all four suitcases.

Gabby watched him go for a moment; then she pointed first at her eyes and then at the team at large, the wolverine softly growling at her feet.

“You coming, Gabby?” Akihiro called from up ahead.

“Uh-huh!” The kid took off, followed by the animal, and quickly reached her brother, her hands linked behind her back.

“Did you tell Logan you were coming here?”

“I texted him! He said it was all right -”

Their voices slowly drifted away as they disappeared further down the corridor.

Trevor pushed himself off of David. “God, they’re terrifying,” he breathed.

“They’re terri _fied_ ,” Jeanne-Marie corrected, stalking down the stairs back to the communal area. The team followed, ready to do the gruesome work.

“Yeah, that too,” Trevor sighed.

“I can’t believe they’re sworn to silence!” she continued, standing at the center of the room as she surveyed the bloodied mess with a critical eye. Jean-Paul was a bit tense, holding tightly Kyle’s hand. He must be thinking about the Children of the Vault. “That mission’s incroyable. Centuries, _millennia_ stuck in that place?”

She shuddered.

“The team agreed to the mission, fully aware of the risks,” Rachel said quietly. “But it’s hard, for those left behind.”

“You don’t say!” Jeanne-Marie rounded on her. “And one can’t even talk about it? The kid’s obviously struggling. And a lot of people, present company included,” she added with a side-glance, “would have cut Akihiro some slack if they’d known where Laura _is_.”

“I _know_ , I agree with you -”

“Even without knowing that he was struggling with something,” David interrupted the two women. “One’s owed a modicum of respect. We haven’t been welcoming.” He grimaced, likely recalling his own behavior. Akihiro had been really excessive, but _never_ insulting. No, that was squarely on them, and Kyle had been a part of it too.

“No,” Jean-Paul agreed quietly, his eyes on the blood covering the floor. “We haven’t.”

“Let’s not beat ourselves up,” Lorna interjected, her voice firm. “We’re going to do better. Aurora, Northstar -” She eyed them both. “Perhaps you should take some time for yourselves as well. It can’t have been easy to hear the news,” she murmured.

Given she’d forgotten to mention chancing upon one of the Children, perhaps she felt some guilt too. Kyle agreed with her assessment; Jean-Paul and Jeanne-Marie were obviously stricken by the secret mission, perhaps even picturing the small strike team being captured and subjected to the same brainwashing that had been done to them. Kyle wondered if Gabby and Akihiro knew about that possibility, too; if it was one of the things that terrified them.

But he also knew that Jean-Paul was wearing that intense expression of a man on a mission, and Jeanne-Marie looked just as resolute. And Kyle would stand right beside them.

“I don’t need space,” Jean-Paul told Lorna, his voice firm. “I need to _act_.”

“Agreed,” Jeanne-Marie said, looking thunderous. Lorna shrugged.

“Very well. Let’s tackle this, then.”

In truth, it took very little time to clean up the room and the entrance. When one had available two speedsters, a telekinetic, and a woman who could manipulate the iron present in blood, it was surprisingly easy to render the place immaculate again. They wouldn’t even need to change the seats that had been drenched in blood, thanks to Lorna neatly separating the molecules; but Kyle doubted that Trevor would ever use them again, judging from the way he was eyeing them even now.

As they examined their work, David turned towards Jean-Paul.

“You said you need to act. Are we confronting the Council on this?”

Jean-Paul furrowed his brow. “We?”

“We’re a team,” Rachel spoke up. “Isn’t that what you said? This mission affects three members of our team, and our guest. Will we demand answers from the Council?”

He’d obviously been thinking about it. Jeanne-Marie looked ready to march out of the door, too. He exchanged a glance with Lorna, still her unofficial second-in-command, and shook his head.

“We’ll discuss that with Akihiro tomorrow. But even if we decide not to act for now, we aren’t going to be _idle_. Trevor, you have friends in Akademos, correct?”

The boy jumped to attention. “Yes!”

“All right. I want you to keep an eye on Delta House… see if they look all right. Lorna -”

“I’ll talk with Jaime.”

“Exactly.” Jean-Paul cocked his head in her direction. “I want to know if Darwin’s and Synch’s friends are aware of the mission. If they are, they’ve got each other; if they aren’t… they deserve to know. Rachel -”

“Vulcan isn’t exactly stable,” the woman said with a sigh. “Dad doesn’t talk about the mission when he’s around. I’ll talk with Petra and Sway.”

“At which point it’s the Council that will want to have words with us,” David interjected, adjusting his glasses on his nose. “JFYI, boss.”

“And we’ll have words, then,” Jeanne-Marie sneered. “I’m _really_ pissed off.”

“Quite so.” Jean-Paul nodded grimly. “David… I want you to stay on the lookout for any activity regarding the Vault. I want to know the minute it’s open, and I doubt the Council will do us the courtesy of warning us.”

He was really growing into the leadership role that he’d second-guessed almost immediately after accepting it. Kyle was glad to see him getting more and more comfortable with every day that passed, learning to wear those clothes. They should have made him a team leader sooner; he was compassionate, caring.

When it was all settled the team dismantled for the night and for some needed rest. With this new worry on top of their duties, Kyle supposed that they’d need all their strength.

Jean-Paul insisted on accompanying Jeanne-Marie to her room. Lorna had created a balcony with a stunning view of the island near the top of the Boneyard, and when Jeanne-Marie had finally accepted Jean-Paul’s offer to come live here, she’d chosen the room adjoined to the balcony. It was so that she could fly away more easily, and Jean-Paul probably wanted to be sure she wasn’t too overwhelmed and she wouldn’t flee. The three of them chatted a bit, the twins studiously ignoring the issue, but when they reached her door, Jean-Paul took her hands.

“ _You’ll be all right?_ ” he asked her in French.

She half-shrugged. “ _Well, I’m not the one currently in the company of those monsters. I’m fine, Jean-Paul. Really, I’m more angered than anything else._ ”

“ _If you need us, you know where to find us_ ,” Kyle said.

She grinned at him. “ _I know._ ”

Jean-Paul hummed, seemingly hesitating on something. Jeanne-Marie nudged his shoulder. “ _What is it, stupid?_ ”

Jean-Paul passed a hand through his hair and sighed. “ _Are you… and Akihiro… close?_ ”

She stared at him.

Kyle sighed. “Baby -”

Jean-Paul shook his head. “ _I mean, do you… Do you like him -?_ ”

“ _Oh my god, Jean-Paul._ What?” She laughed, with a hint of irritation. “ _What are we, twelve? You aren't my_ big brother _, you can't keep doing this shit -_ ”

“ _No, no! I mean… If you_ do _. It’s all right, I suppose. It’s not my business, but I_ am _your brother, so I wanted you to know that I won’t do ‘that shit’ anymore. Okay?_ ” He winced.

Kyle squeezed his arm, proud of him for letting the matter go. Jeanne-Marie was considering him with an eyebrow raised, and Kyle knew she was very close to getting into the room and leaving them hanging.

But she didn’t. She crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall.

“ _Took you long enough. But honestly, I’m not sure that he’s really interested. I think he’s just lonely._ ”

At least she wasn’t angry about it.

“Oh.” Jean-Paul nodded. “ _Well, if he hurts you -_ ”

“And you were doing so well,” she said, switching to English. With a sigh, she opened her door. “If he hurts me, I’ll deal with it.”

“But -”

“Goodnight, brother,” she said loudly, and then she was gone, the door closed behind her.

Kyle snorted.

“What?” Jean-Paul looked affronted. “I was doing well!”

“You were, baby.” Kyle clasped his hand, and together they took the stairs back. “You know, this is the second time today that a door was slammed in my face.”

Jean-Paul looked thunderous. “Problems at work?”

“No. Gabby.”

“Oh! Yes, I can see it.” He grimaced. “Poor kid.” They both glanced at her room as they reached their own, but her door, and Akihiro’s, were both closed. Jean-Paul wrapped an arm around Kyle’s waist, his expression soft and adoring as he gazed at Kyle. “Mon cœur.”

In an instant, they were in their room, the door closed, the stacks of paper on the desk rustling from the rush of wind provoked by Jean-Paul.

“Oi.” Kyle squeezed gently Jean-Paul’s arm. “Don’t misplace my files.”

“I’m always careful,” Jean-Paul murmured. “Thank you, mon cœur.”

“For what, baby?”

“For being here with me, in this mess of an island.” Jean-Paul reached up and cupped Kyle’s jaw, tenderly thumbing his cheek. “For steering me and making me a better person.”

Kyle leaned into the touch, wrapping his arms around his husband and holding him tight. “Jean-Paul, I’m here because I love you. It’s no hardship. It’s been a bit crazy, I can’t deny it, but I married you, didn’t I?”

Jean-Paul nodded, a soft grin on his lips. “Oui.”

With a sigh Kyle rested his forehead on his husband’s. “And you make yourself a better person, my love. It’s all you. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you. But you did good today, mon cœur.” Jean-Paul trailed his hand down, to hold Kyle. “You helped me see what I was doing wrong. You helped _us_ be more of a team.” He kissed Kyle, soft and brief. “I love you.”

It was nice to contribute. Kyle couldn’t put on a spandex costume - and he had no intention of doing it - but it was good to know that he’d helped. He’d only listened to Gabby and acted accordingly, and he liked to think that Jean-Paul would have done the same if he’d been the one to find her waiting outside, but things had gone this way, and Kyle was glad of it.

He grinned. “You call that a kiss, mister?”

Jean-Paul’s gaze sparkled with mischief. He leaned in -

Someone knocked.

Jean-Paul cursed and extricated himself from Kyle with a mournful expression. “Yes?” he called out.

“It’s Akihiro. Sorry to interrupt.”

Ah, the perks of living with someone with hyper-senses. Kyle gestured for Jean-Paul to open the door - it must be important if the man had left Gabby alone - and went to check if his files were all in place.

Jean-Paul greeted Akihiro with only a small amount of frustration in his voice. “Everything all right?”

“Yes. Apologies. I’d… advise you to choose a different room, but the truth is that I hear most of what goes on at night. I could move to a pod nearby.”

Kyle couldn’t read Akihiro’s tone. He turned and saw the man standing in the doorway, incredibly wearing a shirt, and barefoot too. He must have showered; he looked better than earlier, for sure. He also seemed apologetic and grimly focused.

“That seems unpractical.” Jean-Paul sighed. “Look, I’m used to living with your father. Just don’t make other jokes and… and references.”

Akihiro stood still for a moment; then he nodded.

“Absolutely. I apologize, to the both of you.”

Kyle joined Jean-Paul by the door. “It’s all right.”

The man nodded. He stood there, and he really looked a bit lost. Had he come just to say he was sorry? It couldn’t be; he wouldn’t have left his sister like that. And he wouldn’t have knowingly interrupted them if he’d wanted to apologize for his behavior. But his offer -

It almost looked as if Akihiro wanted to flee the building with his sister, overwhelmed by what had transpired. Gabby had said that he was completely alone, hadn’t she? The sudden change of behavior towards him, that statement of intent by the entire team, must have given him whiplash. So he’d hoped to use his heightened hearing as an excuse to justify leaving, but it hadn’t worked.

But Kyle knew better than pointing that out.

“Is Gabby okay?” he asked.

Akihiro looked startled. “Yes. Yes, she’s sleeping. Thank you for letting her in, Kyle. And for trying to make her stay.” He glanced at Jean-Paul. “She told me everything.”

Jean-Paul grimaced. “Sorry.”

Akihiro waved a hand.

“When she arrived, I tried to convince her to go back to Wolverine’s,” Kyle confessed, in the interest of transparency. “It was wrong of me.”

“I know. I said she told me everything.” Akihiro cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t beat yourself up. I didn’t give you any reasons to think differently of me.”

“Non, you _did_ ,” Jean-Paul said. Kyle nodded. “You really did. We’ve been bad teammates, Akihiro. I’m sorry.”

“Listen, there’s no need to apologize.” Akihiro crossed his arms, his gaze flickering with some alarm. “I heard what you said before. Being a team. That’s all well and good, but I _will_ hold you to that, Northstar. Not for me - I don’t care - but for Gabby. She acts tough, but she’s a kid. And she _believes_ you.” He grimaced. “If you abuse that trust, if you trick her -”

Oh. _This_ was what he’d come to say. Of course.

It didn’t sound like he was only worried about _her_ trust being abused. Kyle had a feeling that Akihiro and Jean-Paul had more in common than either man would presently be comfortable with.

“I would never.” Jean-Paul’s voice cracked and Kyle wrapped an arm around his waist to anchor him. “I meant what I said. We all did. We’re going to be there. For the _both_ of you, Akihiro. I know we treated you abysmally, but please, trust us.”

The man looked away. He stood there, in the dark corridor, gazing at something they couldn’t see. His eyes were haunted.

“I lost them both already, recently,” he said slowly. “I didn’t know where they were. I didn’t know what was _happening_. They were… it was some sort of alternate reality -”

“It was terrible, not knowing where they were,” Kyle agreed, his heart clenching at the memory. At least, he supposed they were thinking about the same circumstance, but even if they weren’t… he _knew_ the feeling _._ He held close Jean-Paul’s trembling form. “I know.”

Akihiro’s gaze snapped to him, and then to Jean-Paul. “Northstar. You were in that construct too.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I was.” Jean-Paul clutched at Kyle’s arm. “Most of us were. It was… bad. For… for some, worse than for others.”

“Gabby was in a prison.” Akihiro clenched his jaw, his fingers digging into his forearms. “She’s been locked up for most of her life, and she was in a _prison_. She’s still shaken. She’s not the same girl she was before. And now this… I don’t know how to _help_ her.”

“I think you’re helping her,” Kyle said quietly, holding Jean-Paul tight. “I think you’re doing a good job.”

Akihiro snorted bitterly. “I made her worry about me, when it should be the other way around. Laura’s gone.” His features crumbled. “I’ve got to take care of Gabby. At least we know where Laura _is_. But we don’t know what’s happening and there’s nothing I can do, save for failing at being a brother.”

God, Kyle knew that helplessness very well. The worry, the anguish, not knowing what the _hell_ was going on. Waiting for news, for any news, day after day after day. He held onto Jean-Paul, remembering. Recalling how shell-shocked Jean-Paul had been, finally bursting into their apartment one day; how they’d both cried, clinging to each other.

They _had_ each other to count on. It was no wonder that Akihiro was falling apart, with no support whatsoever.

“It’s not so clear-cut,” Jean-Paul said. “I failed a lot, with Jeanne-Marie. I know how it is, to worry about your sister. And with the Children of the Vault -” He shuddered and held on to Kyle. “I _understand_. I can see... we can _all_ see that you’re trying, Akihiro. And we’re going to help. Je le jure.”

Akihiro took a breath. “I’m going to hold you to that,” he repeated.

He considered Jean-Paul carefully, and Kyle knew what he was thinking, knew what he’d _ask_. Kyle knew that he would do exactly the same if he were in the man’s shoes; but he didn’t know if he’d manage to forgive Akihiro if he did.

The man looked away. “I’m going to get back to Gabby. Thank you, for -” He shrugged.

“Of course.” Jean-Paul gathered himself and laid a hand on Akihiro’s arm, honestly startling all three of them. “It’s going to be all right, Akihiro.”

The man looked at his arm as if he couldn’t compute the sight, and that didn’t sit at all well with Kyle. So he reached out and his hand joined his husband’s against the man’s shirt, and he was startled once again - this time, by the softness of the material.

“You can count on us,” he said firmly.

Akihiro lost that astonished look, and he glanced back at them with something like wonder. “Yes,” he said slowly. “I will.”

When he returned to Gabby’s room, Kyle fancied seeing a different spring in the man’s step. He knew they couldn’t get through to Akihiro in such a short time, but they’d managed to reiterate the reassurance he’d fled from earlier, and this time he seemed to have accepted it.

Back inside, Kyle faced Jean-Paul. His husband was still a bit pale, from all those disturbed memories - Kyle was glad that Akihiro hadn’t asked about the Children of the Vault - but he also seemed satisfied with what had just happened. Kyle was certainly proud.

“You all right, baby?” he asked, wrapping his arms around Jean-Paul. His husband leaned against him.

“Yes, mon cœur,” he murmured. “I’m all right. I’m with you.”

“I am.” Kyle nuzzled his cheek. “Let’s go to bed.”

The day had been long, and they had much to do.

**Author's Note:**

> So… I initially wanted to write a short story about Gabby and Akihiro dealing with Laura’s absence from an outsider’s perspective; the bones are still there, but I lost control pretty quickly and it turned into this far longer piece. There was just so much to tackle, and I still left some things out!  
> I hope you enjoyed it. I’d love to read a comment ^-^ Let me know what you think!


End file.
